Ahmedabad

I have just begun early preparations for a book I am contracted to write on my hometown of Ahmedabad. I am looking forward to the book for several reasons, not the least of them being that someone will pay me to write it.

The most important reason why I am going to write it is because it will offer me an extraordinary opportunity to tell the story of a city that has sat on the intersection of several centuries. It is hard to distil a city’s DNA to a single characteristic but if I were to do it for Ahmedabad it would its people’s self-assurance. There is a pervasive belief among the Amdavadis that the world will adjust itself to their requirements. While that may or may not always happen, it is a great attribute to have.

My travels begin sometime in February when I begin looking for materials to piece together a narrative that is not only accurate but compelling. As a journalist I know that when you present facts the way they are they do tend to become compelling. It all boils down to how you treat those facts and stack’em up.

I plan to approach the city as an organic entity, almost like a person, which carries within itself all the characteristics of a great protagonist.